Fuel injectors are used to provide precisely metered amounts of fuel relative to a supply of combustion air provided to an internal combustion engine. For a so-called “top feed” fuel injector, the fuel is provided to the fuel injector from a fuel rail connected to one end of the injector, typically called the inlet. The fuel injector meters the fuel from a distal end of the injector, typically called the outlet. The fuel may be metered directly into a combustion chamber or may be metered into an air intake passageway, e.g., in an intake manifold, where the fuel mixes with the combustion air prior to its introduction into the combustion chamber.
In a typical top feed injector fuel rail installation, the fuel rail includes a cup that engages, e.g., surrounds, the inlet of the fuel injector. The fuel rail cup/fuel inlet interface is made leak-proof through the use of a seal, typically an O-ring installed on the inlet of the fuel injector. A retaining device, such as a clip, may be used to secure each fuel injector with respect to its fuel rail cup.
Referring to FIG. 5, it is known to mount a fuel rail (FR) directly above a fuel injector (FI), i.e., in a plane that includes a longitudinal axis (LA) of the fuel injector (FI). It is believed that one reason for this known arrangement is because at least some parts of the fuel injector are “turned” parts, i.e., manufactured in a rotating process so as to be symmetrical about a rectilinear axis. Consequently, one disadvantage of known fuel injectors and fuel systems is their limited flexibility of the relative positioning of the fuel injectors with respect to fuel rails.
Thus, it is believed that there is a need to provide a fuel injector that can be located at various positions with respect to a fuel rail, e.g., offset or to the side of the longitudinal axis of a fuel injector.